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One of the main reasons for acquiring these books on CD-ROM is to avoid being tethered to an internet connection. The system worked well for me at first, but then I started having difficulty opening books on the disk. The CCEL Desktop was fighting with my firewall. But a quick scan of the troubleshooting document showed me how to find a directory through which I could open any of the books in .pdf format. I found that I preferred reading the .pdf versions and have been going that route ever since.

Now, when I'm in an airport lounge where I don't want to pay for a wireless connection, or on an airplane where none is available, I have a large Christian library tucked away in a small space in my briefcase.

If you don't travel and you're always online, there is still a good reason to purchase this CD-ROM. Sure, you can access any of these books and hundreds more at www.ccel.org, but the Christian Classics Ethereal Library is a labor of love that has greatly enriched the Christian community by its offerings. CCEL deserves ongoing support. Even though the scanning, editing, and mark-up are all done by volunteers, the web costs and other overhead are still real and ongoing. Support the project with a purchase (http://www.ccel.org/store/store.html).

Some additional advantages to the CCEL Classics CD:

1. You can download additional books from among the hundreds available at CCEL and integrate them into the library on your hard drive. There is no fee for these additional downloads, but they would appreciate a donation.
   
   
2. The text of these books is fully searchable using the CCEL Desktop Software. You must, however, actually install the books you want to search on your hard drive. You can't search feature books that remain resident only on the CD.
   
   
3. When used in conjunction with the three Bible translations, the search software will cross-reference Bible commentaries and dictionaries—and even creeds and catechisms, giving you a quick shortcut from verse to classic commentary. Like all classic Christian material, these commentaries must be read in their historical context, however, and the careful Bible student will want to search out more contemporary scholarship as well.

If there are classic Christian writings you are likely to return to in preparing sermons, Bible studies, or other writing, this is a good way to create a good research library. Want to know what the Ante-Nicene Fathers or the Reformers thought about a subject? You could have much of that material resident in one place on your computer and survey a topic rapidly.

The book is evolving. The way we read and the way we study are changing. The CCEL Classics CD is a welcome addition to our brave new bookshelf.

David Neff is executive editor of Christian History & Biography and editor-in-chief of the Christianity Today Media Group.

Copyright © 2007 Christian History & Biography, or the author. Click for reprint information.

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